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Awards to honour police officers and dogs risking their lives to keep us safe

Written by on 18/07/2019

Officers who were shot, stabbed, beaten and even zapped with their own Taser gun, are among nominees for the annual Police Bravery Awards.

Others rescued victims from house and car fires, saved them from drowning, or pulled them from the path of a train.

In all, 64 officers from most of the 43 police forces in England and Wales have been nominated in a contest organised by their union the Police Federation.

Many were young and inexperienced when they were confronted by violent offenders. Some were working alone.

In their last year before retirement, PC Mike Davey and his police dog Bacca were both stabbed after pursuing a suspected burglar in an alleyway at Bromyard, Herefordshire.

PC Davey said: “The man looked at me and produced this huge 10in-bladed boning knife. I told him to drop the knife and he refused. I told him to drop it again, at which point he took the knife and slashed his face. I then deployed Bacca and he bit the man on the leg, during which he started to slash Bacca around the head numerous times.”

After a tussle with the officer, whose pepper spray had little effect, the suspect ran off and Bacca and his handler chased him along the narrow alley.

PC Davey said: “As the dog went to bite him, the man bent down and slashed Bacca straight through the side of the ear. I was then in a situation where I thought, right, the dog’s out of the game, he’s gonna stop and keel over. I honestly thought he was dead.”

Yet, in spite of his injuries, Bacca threw himself at the suspect for a third time as his handler grappled with him.

“I knew I had to fight, I knew there was no way I could run. And the fact that I had to save my partner to a degree. It turned out he saved me. He was the one who came back in after he was seriously slashed numerous times.”

PC Davey and Bacca both needed stitches for knife wounds, but were released from hospital later the same day.

In Humberside a dog handler and his dog were shot several times by a suspect armed with a gas-fired pellet gun.

PC Ian Sweeney suffered puncture wounds as he was hit five times – three times in the face – when he tackled the suspect.

His dog Logan was shot four times in the face before the man was arrested for several offences.

In Northumberland, two officers called to help doctors deal with an aggressive mental health patient were injured when the suspect grabbed one of their Taser guns and fired it at them both.

PC Hailey Routledge was hit by several bursts of high-voltage electricity and PC Paul Rowell also suffered a broken finger, before they managed to handcuff the suspect.

In Cambridgeshire, two officers called to house where a man was threatening self-harm discovered all was calm – until they were told he was wanted for various offences and tried to arrest him.

The suspect ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and threatened PC Jess Farchica by holding the weapon close to her face.

She said: “Every time I was trying to see if I could get on my radio or go to my Taser he was inching closer. I thought, right, this is a moment where I have just got to use my voice and plead and make sure that he doesn’t hurt me.”

She managed to keep him at bay, but he suddenly turned and ran across the room towards her colleague PC Natalie Hines.

PC Hines said: “I try and get my pepper spray out, but I can’t in the time he is running towards me.

And then he just falls flat at my feet. So Jess has gone from having him in her face, with the knife right up in her face, to in a split second managing to get her Taser out and Taser him.”

The nominees are to meet the Theresa May in Downing Street on Friday before gathering for a dinner where the winners will be announced.

(c) Sky News 2019: Awards to honour police officers and dogs risking their lives to keep us safe